Chicken-chucking, screaming teens just might save Hollywood



Upon its release earlier this month, “A Minecraft Movie” exploded onto the scene in more ways than one. On a positive note, the film has drawn large audiences to once-empty cinemas and is on track to earn more than $1 billion globally — a welcome vital sign for the American film industry after its decline during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, “Minecraft” has also sparked literal explosions of chaos in theaters. Fans, overcome with excitement at scenes like a baby zombie riding a chicken or the introduction of Jack Black’s character, Steve, have reportedly screamed, hurled popcorn and toilet paper, and even tossed live chickens at the screen — leaving staff with colossal messes to clean up afterward.

For most Zoomers, passionate moments of shared interest and fun are virtually nonexistent.

According to my high school students who watched the movie and could explain this bizarre behavior, these outbursts came from people who actually liked the movie. Reading through the mediocre movie reviews, I assumed that fans were disappointed and consequently engaged in shameless hooliganism. Quite the opposite. They were expressing their excitement at the movie’s many references and Easter eggs to the beloved video game.

Reckless or simply fun?

Of course, causing a public ruckus raises concerns about today’s youths who react so strongly to an otherwise silly movie. Such outbursts suggest that the younger Zoomers have pent-up rage, lacking healthy outlets for their aggression. The recent TV series “Adolescence,” which controversially portrayed radicalized youth engaging in violent acts, may have struck closer to the truth than we’d like to admit.

Then again, there might be a good reason to see these rampant outbursts as a salutary development. Not only are young people going to movie theaters and thereby reviving a moribund entertainment industry, but they are also charging a previously stagnant environment with some much-needed energy. This isn’t the glassy-eyed, TikTok-scrolling crowd we’ve come to expect. These lively crowds of young people are sharing an intense moment with a piece of entertainment they all love — not Beatlemania, but “Minecraft mania.”

Dwindling social outlets

Older generations, which have their own experience with various social crazes that brought them and their peers together in effusive exuberance, may not understand just how special this is for young people today.

Previous generations enjoyed countless concerts, movies, video games, and even books that routinely brought together fan communities that frequently became rowdy and occasionally chaotic — and hardly any of it, even for Millennials, was coordinated through online social media.

As a Millennial myself who’s about to turn 40, I remember the insanity at the cinema when the original “Star Wars” trilogy was re-released in anticipation of the prequels. People gasped and cried when they saw a remastered Han Solo or Luke Skywalker. I can also recall driving by bookstores — before Amazon put most of them out of business — observing the long lines of “Harry Potter” devotees decked in their Hogwarts uniforms, eagerly anticipating the next book in the series. More recently, similar fan frenzies were seen with the latest Taylor Swift concert or “Avengers” movies.

At the time, I pitied these nerds who, for all appearances, lost their minds over something seemingly insubstantial. Now, I envy them and yearn for a return to this kind of enthusiasm.

These days, pop culture has become hyper-individualized and mediated through online streaming and social media platforms. Algorithms, not authenticity, inform everyone’s taste. Nothing about it is natural or real. For most Zoomers, passionate moments of shared interest and fun are virtually nonexistent.

Zoomers don’t realize that physically gathering with fellow fans is normal and that such events add up to more than the sum of their parts. They represent rare moments of authentic public celebration. Yes, they usually center around some shallow piece of pop-culture fluff, but they generate a collective spirit that only happens when fans are allowed to “nerd out” and let go with one another for a little while.

Welcome ‘Minecraft mania’

The “Minecraft” chicken jockey mania continues this tradition. One of my students told me that watching “Minecraft” in the theater was the most fun he’s ever had at the cinema. He conceded that the movie is mostly Hollywood slop, but the audience’s reactions made it worth the annoyingly high price of admission.

He and his peers should understand the value of sharing experiences with friends and fellow fans. Active participation beats passive consumption on the couch every time.

Let the next cultural craze bring the same energy and excitement — minus the chicken feathers.

Jesus Christ, superstar: TV hit 'The Chosen' scores on big screen



How bad did "Snow White" flop? Bad enough to get hammered by run-of-the-mill Jason Statham flick "A Working Man" in its second weekend in theaters.

Another title also lapped the Disney dud, except it’s not a movie but part of a long-running TV show.

'This fan base ... they are incredible. They love to gather communally, and they’re all very loyal.'

“The Chosen: Last Supper Part 1” earned a per-screen average of $4,743 last weekend, a thousand-plus more than “Snow White” attracted by the same metric. The show, detailing the life and times of Jesus Christ, has been a sensation from the jump eight years ago.

Early 'Supper'

“Last Supper Part 1,” the beginning of the show’s fifth season, will be available to stream in June on Prime Video and, at a date to be determined, for free via the official “Chosen” app.

Audiences, apparently, couldn’t wait that long.

It shouldn’t be shocking to see “The Chosen” stand tall against Hollywood’s biggest films. “The Chosen” is a consistent moneymaker in theaters courtesy of Fathom Entertainment.

The Colorado-based company first brought the story to the big screen via “Christmas with the Chosen: The Messengers.” That 2021 title earned an impressive $13.7 million in select theaters, and a new tradition was born.

The latest theatrical release in the series, “The Chosen: Last Supper Part 1” became the best-selling installment in less than a week with $15 million from U.S. theaters ... and counting. One difference this time? IMAX theaters shared “The Chosen” with fans.

Looking for hope

Ray Nutt, chief executive officer of Fathom Entertainment, says the show’s theatrical success started as the global pandemic started to recede in 2021.

“People were looking for some hope, some faith, and to gather communally,” says Nutt, who previously served as senior vice president of business relations at Regal Entertainment Group.

Fathom Entertainment quickly learned this wasn’t just another faith-based property.

“This fan base ... they are incredible. They love to gather communally, and they’re all very loyal,” Nutt said.

A different approach

Fathom offers an alternative to big studio films and franchises. The company serves up reissues of classic films — think this year’s 50th anniversary rerelease of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” — to indie fare and faith-friendly films like the upcoming “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality.” That film, detailing the journey of the first Millennial saint, hits theaters April 27.

The company regularly reaches out to faith-based audiences, a group sometimes ignored by traditional Hollywood. The company’s loyalty to faith-friendly titles comes from deep research into that sprawling demographic, Nutt said.

And of course, results.

“We’ve had a lot of luck with Catholic content,” he said, adding that “Mother Teresa: No Greater Love” performed particularly well in 2022. “We’ve drilled down into certain categories where we know there are audiences, and we communicate with them.”

Follow the money

Nutt isn’t surprised to see mainstream Hollywood companies expand their faith-friendly content in recent years. Netflix is currently prepping an update on “The Chronicles of Narnia” by Oscar-nominee Greta Gerwig. Prime Video has found success with the recent “House of David,” already greenlit for a second season.

“Hollywood will follow the money ... we’re very proud we’ve been able to pioneer this space,” he said.

Nutt says Fathom is constantly evaluating its business model to address consumer craving.

One example? This year, Fathom will allow audiences to catch up with recent “Chosen” installments, giving them the chance to “binge” all three season five updates, even if they missed “Last Supper Part 1,” for example.

Part of the Fathom Entertainment model is that films stay in theaters for a limited time. The “Monty Python” rerelease, for example, will be shown on just two nights — May 4 and 7.

The theatrical landscape is undergoing seismic shifts of late. Theatrical windows — the time between a film’s release and its debut on home-streaming platforms — are shrinking. Box office numbers have yet to recover from their pre-pandemic levels. The 2025 box office receipts have been troubling, above and beyond Disney's disappointing "Snow White" tally.

'A very resilient industry'

Nutt remains bullish on the theatrical experience in 2025 and beyond.

“It’s a very resilient industry and somewhat recession proof,” he said, recalling how often observers predicted the theatrical model’s death in the past. Some said the advent of television would strike that mortal blow. Others predicted the dawn of cable television options like HBO would do the same.

Innovation matters on the theatrical level, and we’re seeing that across the industry. Some mainstream theaters are toying with 4DX experiences, where the consumer’s chair moves along with the action on screen, among other enhancements.

For Fathom, it might be as simple as having film historian Leonard Maltin greet audiences with trivia about a beloved film. Nutt compares it to an MLB giveaway, where attendees get a free T-shirt or similar souvenir.

“Our research tells us that’s really working for us,” he said. “If you do something that might be extra, like Fathom does all the time, you’ll get that person no matter what the window is, off the couch and into the movie theater.”

“The Chosen: Last Supper Part 2” (episodes 3-5) debuts April 4, with the third installment (episodes 6-8) arriving April 11. Show fans can choose the “binge-fest” option mid-April.

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Is Disney Finally Learning When It Goes Woke, It Goes Broke?

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‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ Delivers A Seed Of Hope — But Not At The Box Office

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Disney CEO Bob Iger blames abysmal box office for 'The Marvels' on COVID, addresses major gripe of comic book fans



Disney CEO Bob Iger said the abysmal box office figures for "The Marvels" were a result of COVID.

The Walt Disney Company spent $274.8 million to make "The Marvels," but then received a $55 million subsidy from the government of the United Kingdom, according to Forbes.

However, "The Marvels" has been an absolute box office bust.

Variety reported on Sunday that "The Marvels" is "officially the lowest-grossing installment in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe."

Since its release date on Nov. 10, "The Marvels" has made an extremely disappointing $80 million in North America and $197 million globally.

Disney appeared to wave the white flag in its statement released on Sunday, "With ‘The Marvels’ box office now winding down, we will stop weekend reporting of international/global grosses on this title."

Bob Iger gave his reasons why he believed that "The Marvels" was a disaster at the box office during an appearance at The New York Times Dealbook Summit last week.

"'The Marvels' was shot during COVID," Iger began. "There wasn’t as much supervision on the set, so to speak, where we have executives [that are] really looking over what’s being done day after day after day."

Iger also blamed streaming services for Disney movies flopping at the box office.

“The experience of accessing [the films] and watching them in the home is better than it ever was,” he said. “And [it’s] a bargain when you think about it. Streaming Disney+ you can get for $7 a month. That’s a lot cheaper than taking your whole family to a film. So, I think the bar is now raised in terms of quality about what gets people out of their homes, into movie theaters.”

Iger also addressed a major gripe that comic book fans have – making sequels just for the sake of making a safe sequel.

“I don’t want to apologize for making sequels,” Iger prefaced. “Some of them have done extraordinarily well, and they’ve been good films, too."

The Disney CEO specified, "I think there has to be a reason to make them. You have to have a good story. And often the story doesn’t hold up to — is not as strong as the original story. That can be a problem.”

Iger continued, "We’re making a number of them now right, as a matter of fact. But we will only greenlight a sequel if we believe the story that the creators want to tell is worth telling.”

"Quality needs attention to deliver quality; it doesn't happen by accident," Iger confessed. "Quantity, in our case, diluted quality, and Marvel has suffered greatly from that."

However, the Walt Disney Company admitted last month that wokeness and culture wars have had significnt impacts across the board on the multinational entertainment and media conglomerate.

As Blaze News previously reported, Disney warned investors that the company's wokeness presents risks to its "reputation and brands" in its annual financial report with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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